Katadyn Group and Spectra Watermakers partner up with the Global Solo Challenge
by Global Solo Challenge 12 Mar 2021 01:47 AEDT
Katadyn Group and Spectra Watermakers partner up with the Global Solo Challenge © Global Solo Challenge
Organisers of the Global Solo Challenge 2023 (GSC) are delighted to announce that Katadyn Group and Spectra Watermakers will be the Event Partners for desalination systems.
Spectra specializes in small scale energy-efficient desalination systems designed for ocean going vessels, off-shore oil platforms, military, disaster relief, emergency preparedness and distributed infrastructure markets.
In 2015 Sectra joined with the Katadyn Group, the world leader in portable water treatment systems to bring to market the most reliable, energy-efficient, and service-backed watermakers available.
Participants in the GSC will benefit from substantial discounts on all Kadadyn and Spectra Watermakers.
Watermaking - a crucial element in a circum-navigation
Light and reliable equipment to produce fresh drinking water whilst at sea is of crucial importance for each and every entry in the GSC. In the absence of a watermaker participants would have to rely on large amounts of water embarked at the start and/or rain collected during the event. This becomes a serious issue especially for the smaller boats planning a circumnavigation. The amount of water required by the regulations would be for many in excess of 500lt at the start, affecting not just performance but also boat trim.
Carrying a watermaker will allow participants to reduce the amount of water on board maintaining a lesser quantity of drinking water for day to day use as well as being allowed to reduce the amount of emergency water permanently kept on board. With a watermaker the minimum required emergency water halves to 0.5l per day for the duration of the passage as opposed to 1l. A substantial difference in weight especially during the early phases of the Event.
Producing a few liters of water a day does not require the installation of a high output watermaker: larger units are capable of producing 30 or more liters of water an hour. Participants in the GSC will need to produce only what required for cooking and basic personal hygeene with a light, sturdy, reliable watermaker that consumes only a few amps an hour to run and is light in weight.
Katadyn PowerSurvivor 40E
The Katadyn PowerSurvivor 40E is the world's smallest electric watermaker weighing just 11kgs and capable of producing 6 litres of water in one hour, more than the average expected amount needed by each skipper.
The construction of the Katadyn PowerSurvivor 40E is rugged with a stainless steel pump and can easily taken apart and rebuilt even at sea. As an added safety feature this watermaker can also be operated manually with a handle in the event of power failure.
For all their features and proven track record of reliability it is not a coincidence that the Katadyn PowerSurvivor 40E was the watermaker of choice on 95% of the Vendée Globe fleet as well as of nearly every Ocean rowing record.
Katadyn also produces the Survivor 06, the world smallest desalinator. This portable manual unit can be packed in the a liferaft container or kept in the grab bag as the ultimate emergency solution.
Spectra Watermakers
Spectra Watermakers produces a range of more powerful desalinators which may suit the larger vessels in the fleet where a little additional weight may be accepted for a higher degree of comfort including the ability to shower which many smaller boat owners may only view as an occasional treat and generally will only use fresh water to rinse after a salt water bucket shower - if at all.
The Ventura 150 is the smallest and quietest of the Spectra Watermakers range which at 27kgs produces 24l of water an hour. The Ventura 200, at a similar weight reaches a respectable 31l hourly output. Larger yachts and commercial vessels can benefit from a range of watermakers with the top rated Spectra Watermaker producing in excess of 100l an hour.
Event Director Marco Nannini commented "I used the Katadyn PowerSurvivor 40E during my Global Ocean Race and with the advice received for a proper installation it proved to be a very reliable companion that never gave us any concerns. We'd run it each time we had to run the engine to charge batteries and that was more than enough for all our needs despite being double-handed, so that even its low consumption was really non consequential to our daily power consumption balance. I am extremely pleased with this partnership as it adds to the safety of the whole Event."